MORE than 600 illegal immigrants have returned home voluntarily or through forced repatriation since the Coalition declared Australia’s borders closed, The Saturday Telegraph can reveal. 
 
The figures, that until now had been kept secret, confirm that for the first time since 2008 the tide of boat arrivals has begun to turn, and the number of people returning home is now exceeding arrival numbers.

Figures from the Immigration Department show 606 people have returned or were forced to return to their place of origin since the start of the Coalition’s controversial Operation Sovereign Borders policy.

Of those, 240 from mainland detention or community detention left voluntarily, having given up hope of being granted asylum, and 168 were flown home by the government.

A total of 198 illegal immigrants from Manus Island and Nauru had also asked authorities to be returned home after realising they would not be settled in Australia.

The Daily Telegraph has also obtained Immigration Department research from last year that reveals only half of all illegal immigrants who arrived since 2008 — about 30,000 — claimed on their applications that they had come to Australia to flee persecution.

A survey of people being held in detention revealed most arrivals had sought to come to Australia because they believed the previous Labor government would let them stay.

Under Labor, there was a 90 per cent acceptance rate.

The overwhelming finding from the survey conducted during Labor’s time was that the door was open to refugees and they would not be returned.

Today will be 100 days since the last boat successfully arrived in Australian territory.

The illegal immigrant return figures suggest the Coalition’s policy, despite being labelled cruel by the Greens and refugee advocacy groups, has smashed hope for illegal immigrants coming by boat that they would ever settle permanently in Australia.

Immigration minister Scott Morrison said his military-led operation would now enter a third phase with signs that the first two phases had succeeded.

He confirmed he would now turn his attention to the 30,000 people still in detention centres or in community detention and awaiting processing.

While pleased with the border security results, Mr Morrison said there was “no room for complacency”.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/more-than-600-asylum-seekers-return-ho...

The source states asylum seekers yet you use the incorrect term.

Is your position that weak?


Also how can one be returned by force and yet the source says they returned voluntary?

Armchair_Politician wrote on Apr 3^rd, 2014 at 12:07pm:


I think it was pretty hard. all credit to the new ideas and implementation of them.

Sprintcyclist wrote on Apr 3^rd, 2014 at 12:38pm:


I mean that Abbott/Morrison pretty much stopped the boats inside of three months, whereas Labor had nearly six years and failed appallingly. 

Quote:


Bravo !!!!!!!!!!!!

But Labor never really wanted to stop the boats, not until the election was on top of them.
They were more concerned to hold the support of the Greens and the cross benches, both of which were against any serious boat stopping.
So they tried to spin several variations on the "unstoppable" theme.
And that has now been exposed for the spin that it was.

A new low for AP.  Who knew that he could actually go this low?

He went through the article, and changed every reference to 'asylum seekers' to 'illegal immigrants'.

What sort of person does such a thing? Seriously?

His "argument" is so weak, that he has to resort to this sort of childish, fraudulent behaviour.

Asylum seekers are not illegal immigrants (they are two completely different things), yet not only does this clown not have the intelligence to understand such a simple fact, he also decides to alter a public news story to serve his own evil purpose.

I'm sure the newspaper involved would love to hear about the frudulent practices of our demented AP.

Stratos wrote on Apr 3^rd, 2014 at 1:20pm:
Heres what makes me think the whole mistreatment claim is bs. Try only drinking half a litre of water a day in a hot climate. You will be dead within 2 days if not 24 hours. Are all these asylum seekers dead?